Assange’s open letter was not ‘explicit’ application for French asylum - WikiLeaks

General view of the courtyard of the Elysee Palace in Paris (Reuters / Christian Hartmann) / Reuters

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s open letter to the French president was not an asylum application to France, the whistleblower platform says. Paris had rejected a possible request before the clarification from WikiLeaks was released.

Media note: Assange did not submit an asylum application to
France. He published an open letter in Le Monde to Hollande and
the public.

Following the Friday frenzy over Assange’s open letter to “Hollande and the
public,” published on the whistleblower’s 43rd birthday in
Le Monde, WikiLeaks released a “media note,” stating the
letter had not been an “explicit” application for
asylum.

The alleged request was rejected by Paris less than an hour after
the publication, with the Elysee Palace releasing a statement
saying that “after a comprehensive study” it has been
decided that “Assange’s legal grounds and material situation
do not allow France to satisfy his request.”

Some hours later, France admitted that Assange had not asked for
asylum, according to WikiLeaks, but said he “should
submit” a request.

The French refugee protection office (OFPRA) had not been sent an
application, French authorities said, adding that they had felt
the need to respond quickly, so as to nip the issue in the bud,
as cited by WikiLeaks. “The answer [regarding asylum] was
obvious, and also had to go fast,” officials explained.

Baltasar Garzon, director of the whistleblower’s defense team,
said Assange’s Friday letter was a “mere reaction” to
statements made by Christiane Taubira, the French Minister of
Justice. “Assange wanted to take this opportunity to remind
the deep bonds that unite him with this country and show
willingness to be hosted in France if, and only if, an initiative
is taken by the competent authorities,” the statement said.

In his address, the Australian activist, who has spent over three
years inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, welcomed the
public statements by the French Justice Minister, who had said
that Assange could be granted political asylum in France.

Assange also revealed for the first time that his youngest child
has a French mother. “I had to keep their existence secret
until today in order to protect them,” the whistleblower
said, adding that he hasn’t seen them for five years.

“Only France is now able to offer me the necessary protection
against the political persecution,” Assange said, adding
that welcoming him would not only be humanitarian, “but also
probably a symbolic gesture, sending an encouragement to all
journalists and whistleblowers in the world, who risk their lives
every day to allow their citizens to take another step closer to
the truth.”

This week, a number of French cultural figures, including
director Jacques Audiard, actor Vincent Cassel and composer Jean
Michel Jarre, signed a petition asking the French president to
“act firmly” and grant political asylum to Julian
Assange and Edward Snowden, who have been paying “the price
of exile for their courage” for several years.

Saying that the whistleblowers have been “subjected to
constant harassment... for revealing violation of the rights of
millions of human beings and sovereignty of many states,
including France,” the country has a duty to accommodate
those “who are persecuted because of their fight for
freedom,” the letter published on Mediapart, a French online
journal, stated.

In describing the poor conditions he’s been forced to endure for
three years and ten days now, the whistleblower said he has only
five and a half square meters for his private use. He has also
been denied access to the sun and open air by UK authorities.
“I have never been allowed out for exercise,” he said.
He also pointed out that he would be unable to go to a hospital
should he need medical assistance.

“The UK refuses to recognize my asylum and guarantee my
non-extradition to the United States, violating the 1951
Convention, and also refuses to confirm or deny receiving an
extradition request from the US,” Assange wrote.

Saying that he is “a journalist prosecuted and threatened
with death by the US authorities because of my professional
activities,” the WikiLeaks founder said his ordeal began in
2010, after he decided to publish a video showing the killing of
several civilians by US soldiers in Iraq. “This video marked
a before and after in my life,” he wrote.